A BILL to amend and reenact §15-12-2 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §49-6-11 of said code;
and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section,
designated §61-8-17, all relating to the crime of solicitation
of a minor; registration as sex offender; and criminal
penalties.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §15-12-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §49-6-11 of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §61-8-17, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY.

ARTICLE 12. SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION ACT.

§15-12-2. Registration.

(a) The provisions of this article apply both retroactively
and prospectively.

(b) Any person who has been convicted of an offense or an
attempted offense or has been found not guilty by reason of mental
illness, mental retardation or addiction of an offense under any of
the following provisions of chapter sixty-one of this code or under
a statutory provision of another state, the United States Code or
the Uniform Code of Military Justice which requires proof of the
same essential elements shall register as set forth in subsection
(d) of this section and according to the internal management rules
promulgated by the superintendent under authority of section
twenty-five, article two of this chapter:

(1) Article eight-b, including the provisions of former
section six of said article, relating to the offense of sexual
assault of a spouse, which was repealed by an act of the
Legislature during the year 2000 legislative session;

(6) Section fourteen-b, article three-c, as it relates to
violations of those provisions of chapter sixty-one listed in this
subsection.

(c) Any person who has been convicted of a criminal offense
and the sentencing judge made a written finding that the offense
was sexually motivated shall also register as set forth in this
article.

(d) Persons required to register under the provisions of this
article shall register in person at the West Virginia State Police
detachment in the county of his or her residence, the county in
which he or she owns or leases habitable real property that he or
she visits regularly, the county of his or her place of employment
or occupation and the county in which he or she attends school or
a training facility, and in doing so, provide or cooperate in
providing, at a minimum, the following when registering:

(1) The full name of the registrant, including any aliases,
nicknames or other names used by the registrant;

(2) The address where the registrant intends to reside or
resides at the time of registration, the address of any habitable
real property owned or leased by the registrant that he or she
regularly visits: Provided, That a post office box may not be
provided in lieu of a physical residential address, the name and
address of the registrant's employer or place of occupation at the
time of registration, the names and addresses of any anticipated
future employers or places of occupation, the name and address of
any school or training facility the registrant is attending at the
time of registration and the names and addresses of any schools or
training facilities the registrant expects to attend;

(3) The registrant's social security number;

(4) A full-face photograph of the registrant at the time of
registration;

(5) A brief description of the crime or crimes for which the
registrant was convicted;

(6) Fingerprints;

(7) Information related to any motor vehicle, trailer or motor
home owned or regularly operated by a registrant, including vehicle
make, model, color and license plate number: Provided, That for
the purposes of this article, the term “trailer” shall mean travel
trailer, fold-down camping trailer and house trailer as those terms
are defined in section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of
this code;

(8) Information relating to any Internet accounts the
registrant has and the screen names, user names or aliases the
registrant uses on the Internet; and

(9) Information related to any telephone or electronic paging
device numbers that the registrant has or uses, including, but not
limited to, residential, work and mobile telephone numbers.

(e) (1) On the date that any person convicted or found not
guilty by reason of mental illness, mental retardation or addiction
of any of the crimes listed in subsection (b) of this section,
hereinafter referred to as a "qualifying offense", including those
persons who are continuing under some post-conviction supervisory
status, are released, granted probation or a suspended sentence,
released on parole, probation, home detention, work release,
conditional release or any other release from confinement, the
Commissioner of Corrections, regional jail administrator, city
official or sheriff operating a jail or Secretary of the Department
of Health and Human Resources who releases the person and any
parole or probation officer who releases the person or supervises
the person following the release, shall obtain all information
required by subsection (d) of this section prior to the release of
the person, inform the person of his or her duty to register and
send written notice of the release of the person to the State
Police within three business days of receiving the information.
The notice must include the information required by said
subsection. Any person having a duty to register for a qualifying
offense shall register upon conviction, unless that person is
confined or incarcerated, in which case he or she shall register
within three business days of release, transfer or other change in
disposition status.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the
contrary, a court of this state shall, upon presiding over a
criminal matter resulting in conviction or a finding of not guilty
by reason of mental illness, mental retardation or addiction of a
qualifying offense, cause, within seventy-two hours of entry of the
commitment or sentencing order, the transmittal to the sex offender
registry for inclusion in the registry all information required for
registration by a registrant as well as the following
nonidentifying information regarding the victim or victims:

(A) His or her sex;

(B) His or her age at the time of the offense; and

(C) The relationship between the victim and the perpetrator.

The provisions of this paragraph do not relieve a person
required to register pursuant to this section from complying with
any provision of this article.

(f) For any person determined to be a sexually violent
predator, the notice required by subsection (d) of this section
must also include:

(1) Identifying factors, including physical characteristics;

(2) History of the offense; and

(3) Documentation of any treatment received for the mental
abnormality or personality disorder.

(g) At the time the person is convicted or found not guilty by
reason of mental illness, mental retardation or addiction in a
court of this state of the crimes set forth in subsection (b) of
this section, the person shall sign in open court a statement
acknowledging that he or she understands the requirements imposed
by this article. The court shall inform the person so convicted of
the requirements to register imposed by this article and shall
further satisfy itself by interrogation of the defendant or his or
her counsel that the defendant has received notice of the
provisions of this article and that the defendant understands the
provisions. The statement, when signed and witnessed, constitutes
prima facie evidence that the person had knowledge of the
requirements of this article. Upon completion of the statement,
the court shall provide a copy to the registry. Persons who have
not signed a statement under the provisions of this subsection and
who are subject to the registration requirements of this article
must be informed of the requirement by the State Police whenever
the State Police obtain information that the person is subject to
registration requirements.

(h) The State Police shall maintain a central registry of all
persons who register under this article and shall release
information only as provided in this article. The information
required to be made public by the State Police by subdivision (2),
subsection (b), section five of this article is to be accessible
through the Internet. No information relating to telephone or
electronic paging device numbers a registrant has or uses may be
released through the Internet.

(i) For the purpose of this article, "sexually violent
offense" means:

(1) Sexual assault in the first degree as set forth in section
three, article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of this code or of a
similar provision in another state, federal or military
jurisdiction;

(2) Sexual assault in the second degree as set forth in
section four, article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of this code or of
a similar provision in another state, federal or military
jurisdiction;

(3) Sexual assault of a spouse as set forth in the former
provisions of section six, article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of
this code, which was repealed by an Act of the Legislature during
the two thousand legislative session, or of a similar provision in
another state, federal or military jurisdiction;

(4) Sexual abuse in the first degree as set forth in section
seven, article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of this code or of a
similar provision in another state, federal or military
jurisdiction.

(j) For purposes of this article, the term "sexually
motivated" means that one of the purposes for which a person
committed the crime was for any person’s sexual gratification.

(k) For purposes of this article, the term “sexually violent
predator" means a person who has been convicted or found not guilty
by reason of mental illness, mental retardation or addiction of a
sexually violent offense and who suffers from a mental abnormality
or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in
predatory sexually violent offenses.

(l) For purposes of this article, the term "mental
abnormality" means a congenital or acquired condition of a person,
that affects the emotional or volitional capacity of the person in
a manner that predisposes that person to the commission of criminal
sexual acts to a degree that makes the person a menace to the
health and safety of other persons.

(m) For purposes of this article, the term "predatory act"
means an act directed at a stranger or at a person with whom a
relationship has been established or promoted for the primary
purpose of victimization.

(n) For the purposes of this article, the term "business
days", means days exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal
holidays as defined in section one, article two, chapter two of
this code.

CHAPTER 49. CHILD WELFARE.

ARTICLE 6. PROCEDURE IN CASES OF CHILD NEGLECT OR ABUSE.

§49-6-11. Conviction for offenses against children.

In any case where a person is convicted of an offense
described in section twelve or seventeen, article eight, chapter
sixty-one of this code or articles eight-b or eight-d of said
chapter against a child and the person has custodial, visitation or
other parental rights to the child who is the victim of the offense
or to any child who resides in the same household as the victim,
the court shall, at the time of sentencing, find that the person is
an abusing parent within the meaning of this chapter as to the
child victim, and may find that the person is an abusing parent as
to any child who resides in the same household as the victim, and
the court shall take such further steps as are required by this
article.

CHAPTER 61. CRIMES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT.

ARTICLE 8. CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY AND DECENCY.

§61-8-17. Soliciting a minor.

(a) A person over the age of eighteen commits the crime of
soliciting a minor if the person knowingly contacts or communicates
with or attempts to contact or communicate with a minor at least
two years younger than such person, with the intent to persuade,
lure, entice, solicit or seduce the minor to:

(1) Accompany the person in any manner, including entering
into a vehicle, building, dwelling or onto any vessel if such
person does not have the express or implied permission of the
parent, guardian, or other legal custodian of the child in
undertaking the activity: Provided, That such person is not a
law-enforcement officer, medic, firefighter, or other person who
regularly provides emergency services while acting in his or her
official capacity, or an employee or agent of, or volunteer acting
under the direction of any such person; or

(2) Commit any illegal act proscribed by the provisions of
article eight, eight-a, eight-b, eight-c or eight-d of this
chapter, or any felony offense under section four hundred one,
article four, chapter sixty-a of this code.

(b) Any person who violates or attempts to violate the
provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional
facility not less than two nor more than fifteen years, or fined
not more than $10,000, or both confined and fined. For a second
offense, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction,
shall be imprisoned in a state correctional facility not more than
twenty years, or fined not more than $25,000, or both confined and
fined.

(c) In any case where the person convicted of an offense under
this section is a parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the
minor, the court shall find that the person is an abusing parent,
guardian or custodian within the meaning of article six, chapter
forty-nine of this code, and shall take such further action in
accordance with the provisions of that article.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the crime of
soliciting a minor; provide penalties; and require that the
offender register on the sex offender registry.

Strike-throughs in §15-12-2 and §49-6-11 indicate language
that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.